My reading of this is that he is specifically picking on the people who choose to break the law.

I disagree with his comments on registration though. I wonder if he would change his opinion about it if he knew that the taxpayer would have to subsidise the administration of bicycle rego?

It seems odd that he mentions the name of 1 pedestrian who was killed by a cyclist in 2007 without mentioning the names of any of the 1,070 people who have died at the hands of motorists since then (in Victoria only).

It did nothing to help educate the public.Ie riding 2 abreast, giving more space when overtaking etc.Could have sent a message through the idiot box as it seems the government is doing 4/5ths of sweet f*all.

Ps. Just had a look at some of the comments. I feel rather sad now. So many ignorant folks out there, so so many...

InTheWoods wrote:I missed it apart from end... Can't believe derryn is upset that because we don't use petrol we don't pay enough tax! So does he think fuel efficient cars shouldnt be allowed on the road as much or should pay more rego to make up for it?

I pay plenty of tax, I pay vehicle registration and I also pay to have a drivers license.

birdbrain wrote:Cockroaches aye! The only cockroach was Hinch a drunk who was lucky enough to get a kidney from some poor sod who died. Interesting that all of the aggression was from drivers. War on the Roads what crap!

Kidney probably came from some poor young fit cyclist who was swiped and killed by one of the bogans

InTheWoods wrote:I missed it apart from end... Can't believe derryn is upset that because we don't use petrol we don't pay enough tax! So does he think fuel efficient cars shouldnt be allowed on the road as much or should pay more rego to make up for it?

I pay plenty of tax, I pay vehicle registration and I also pay to have a drivers license.

That's a flawed argument. You have to pay sepearate rego on multiple vehicles thst you own and but can only drive one at a time...and you also need seperate licences to drive them as well (eg a car vs motorbike vs truck) so why should a bicycle have an exemption? Not being pro bicycle rego (though if it got us respect on the road from motorists then I'd be pro-rego but I know motorists attitudes wouldn't change), just pointing out the lack of logic in the "I pay rego on my car" argument.

Ross wrote:That's a flawed argument. You have to pay sepearate rego on multiple vehicles thst you own and but can only drive one at a time...and you also need seperate licences to drive them as well (eg a car vs motorbike vs truck) so why should a bicycle have an exemption? Not being pro bicycle rego (though if it got us respect on the road from motorists then I'd be pro-rego but I know motorists attitudes wouldn't change), just pointing out the lack of logic in the "I pay rego on my car" argument.

+1. I reckon there's a couple of ways to go about it, if the person you're talking to wants bike rego because "they all run red lights" then point out what a fantastic job registration does of stopping much more dangerous cars, motorbikes and trucks from doing the same (and I always like to point out the utterly disgusting number of people killed on the road every year). If it's because "they should pay for the road", then the argument is that rego doesn't come close to paying for roads, bike rego would never actually generate a profit, cyclists already pay the taxes and rates that DO fund the roads, and bicycles don't do any damage to the roads.

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

If cyclists were required to pay for their use of the roads, what would be a fair amount?

The maintenance costs of the road network are a product of the distance travelled, weight of the vehicle, speed and the width of road used. A little calculation later shows that a fair price for me to use my bike on the road would be around 0.015% of what I pay for my car. Ie for every $100 I pay to use the car, I would be required to pay 1 cent to use the bike. I'd be happy to pay this but somehow, I suspect the administration costs to the general public would exceed that fair amount. While we are being fair and equitable, we should get a rebate for easing our health care burden off the state through a fitter, healthier lifestyle and perhaps a suddenly shortened life eliminating the burden of palliative care and age pension.

Ken

Last edited by kenwstr on Mon Aug 19, 2013 11:21 pm, edited 3 times in total.

BianchiCam wrote:It did nothing to help educate the public.Ie riding 2 abreast, giving more space when overtaking etc.Could have sent a message through the idiot box as it seems the government is doing 4/5ths of sweet f*all.

Ps. Just had a look at some of the comments. I feel rather sad now. So many ignorant folks out there, so so many...

Couldn't bear to watch, but just skimmed the transcript, billed by BTAWA as "not as bad as the promo". That's about all I'd give it though, it really did miss some good opportunities to counter some of the boneheaded junk we are all so sick of hearing.

Re the comments: Ghostery for firefox, sweetie. Has the option of blocking comment sections on most blogs & news websites. I wouldn't be surprised if installing it has markedly reduced my baseline blood pressure.

Some of the aggressive comments directed toward cyclists were frightening. I have had a number of close shave in recent weeks, some seemed to drive intentionally close and came within a few centimeters. Even a guy on a motorbike with the entire lanes width vacant...

Pretty much all the cycle cam "accidents" shown in the WotR where the cars turned in front of the cyclists and then the cyclists appeared to collide with them could of been avoided if the cyclists had slown down. Not excusing what the car drivers did, though probably most of them were SMIDSY rather than deliberate, but it looks to me (obviously I wasn't there) that the cyclists had plenty of time to slow and avoid the collision.

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